Live scouting beats video
JAKE Buxton relished going on his first live scouting mission of the season earlier this week, when he went to watch Everton and Leicester’s City’s development sides battle it out at Southport.
There were several players he was interested in taking a look at but necessity, because of a lengthening injury list, was why he had taken Jack Roles, from Tottenham Hotspur, and Indiana Vassilev, from Aston Villa, on loan last week without having had the chance to see as much of them as he would have preferred.
Their excellent references, gleaned face to face from manager Dean Smith and his assistant, John Terry, in Vassilev’s case, at the Villa game last week, went a long way to allaying any doubts.
As with so many other aspects of life, modern technology has changed the jobs of managers, scouts and agents a great deal.
There are several scouting websites they all use and they can call up footage of virtually any player at any level that would interest them.
Buxton is not the sort of manager who will be tweeting his thoughts any time soon but he does use the websites.
That said, though, he thoroughly enjoyed his trip to Southport.
“It was good to get out there scouting properly, live, looking at players for the future,” he said.
“It’s OK speaking to someone on the phone but it’s only when you meet them in person that you can judge their character and it’s the same watching a football match.
“When the ball’s on the other side of the pitch to the player, you’re looking to see how they are. Are they walking, are they strolling?
“What happens when it goes wrong and it’s tough? Are they the type of characters to dig in and try to drag other players along with them?
“That’s what I’m looking at. Would the players on show be the right sort to join our group and make sure we push forward?
“It’s harder to judge traits on video. There’s nothing better than seeing it live and it’s something we’ve missed.
“Me and the staff are getting out to watch games now and we’re not just building for this window, we’re looking to the next one as well.”